Northwoods
Presbyterian
Church
John 4:24
4723 Griffith Avenue
Cheyenne, WY
82009
Worship in Spirit and Truth.
The Northwoods News
Almighty God,
I Thank You
By
Rich Cesal
This is the month that is set aside by the
congress of the United States to celebrate a
day of thanksgiving. The history of this
celebration goes back to the settling of the
New World. Although there is some
disagreement, it is said the first
Thanksgiving Day was celebrated by the
settlers of Berkley Hundred in the Colony of
Virginia on December 4, 1619. The Charter of
Berkeley Hundred specified the day of their
arrival as a thanksgiving service: "We
ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at
the place assigned for plantacon in the land
of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually
kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to
Almighty God."
These settlers did indeed celebrate a day of "Thanksgiving",
establishing the tradition a year and 17 days before the Pilgrims arrived
aboard the Mayflower at Plymouth, Massachusetts to establish their
Thanksgiving Day in 1621. These Pilgrims were Separatists along the
same line as the Puritans but not to be confused with them who
established their own colony, The Massachusetts Bay Colony.
However, it was the very purist of Christians, the Puritans and the
Separatists, who inaugurated Thanksgiving Day in the Colonies. With the
establishment of the United States, in 1777, the Continental Congress
declared by proclamation: “FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty
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of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to
acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits
received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need
of . . . to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next,
for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with
one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their
Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine
Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and
Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins,
whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest
Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS
CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance . . . ”
In 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation given
here in part: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the
providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his
benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas
both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to
recommend to the People of the United States a day of public
thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful
hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording
them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for
their safety and happiness.”
It became an official Federal holiday in 1863, when, during the Civil
War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of
"Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the
Heavens", to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26.
Except for the years 1815 - 1862, every president has issued a
Thanksgiving proclamation. In all of the documents, when giving the date,
the proclamations use the language of “in the year of our Lord”. Isn’t it
strange they should use that terminology when there is such a denial
today that this is and it never was a Christian nation?
The early proclamations have a heavy use of phrases such as “The
Devine Author of Every Good and Perfect Gift”, “The Most High God”,
“Great Disposer of Events”, “The continued favor of Providence”, and
“Divine Providence”. The most used term is “Almighty God”. This appears
in all proclamations up to Richard M. Nixon who does not use it at all.
Gerald R. Ford resurrects it and until William J. Clinton was again in much
use. Clinton and Barack Obama do not reference Almighty God.
It wasn’t so long ago that our country still recognized its Christian
roots. When I entered college at Eastern Illinois University, one of five
formerly teacher colleges or normal schools as they were first known by,
I lived in the dorm. Men only of course. We had a common meal in the
dining hall at dinner time. The hall consisted of tables having ten chairs.
We would enter the hall and take our place behind one of the chairs. We
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would remain standing until all were in the hall. Then one of the upper
classmen would begin singing the Doxology and we all joined in the
singing with bowed heads. And this was a state supported school!
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen
This idea of giving thanks to the God of the universe no doubt comes
from the number of times thanks and thanksgiving is mentioned in the
Bible. It is obvious that giving thanks to God for His Providence was a
familiar theme by the inspired Bible writers. The Psalms are heavy with
the giving of thanks to God.
No doubt, this Thanksgiving Day will see a multitude of references to
giving thanks. Many of those references will not state who the recipient
of that thanks is to be. This Day, Easter, and Christmas are probably the
only times during their lives that they actually think of something they
refer to as God.
I was quite young during WWII but I was well aware of the public
acknowledgement of God and giving thanks to Him for victories. People
openly prayed for God's deliverance of their sons and husbands fighting
in the war. The media, including radio, was full of asking for God’s
blessing and thanking Him for already received blessings.
Catholic Churches and Catholic schools thrived on the public
outpouring of gratitude. As a young man, having a coffee break in a
restaurant in the Chicago Merchandise Mart during the Lenten season,
the overheard talk of so many was about what they were giving up for
Lent. I think now this kind of talk is either silenced or nonexistent.
Our prayers should be full of thanksgiving for we owe all to God.
Christians may see persecutions and sadness but the promise of eternity
to be spent with God without merit on our part should lay upon our heart
unmitigated thanks. This is why there is so much mention of thanks in
the words of the Bible.
What caused this change from those situations of yesterday to the
modern flippant attitude toward the providence of God or in fact the
total non-recognition of the providence of God? As a high school math
teacher in the early 60’s, I never felt any pressure to not speak of God
in the classroom. We did not have prayer in the school nor did we say the
Pledge of Allegiance but I’m sure over the PA system especially when
John Kennedy was assassinated there was much mention of God.
In the New Testament the crescendo of thanks is so great because
now we have the answer to the plan of God for His people. Hymns sing of
praise. And Paul says “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
Wow.
So even though the thanking directed to God has all but left the
public square, we as individuals and especially as Christian individuals
should thank God for all His daily blessings (give us our daily bread) on
Thanksgiving Day (and in fact everyday).
With the unlimited and run away immigration and absence of God
fearing presidents and legislators, our Christian roots have eroded to
the point of almost non-existence. To mention the USA as a Christian
nation brings all sorts of condemnation from many groups and persons.
They make it out to be a sin (pardon the pun) to dare to invoke God or
Christ into a public setting.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have the nation experience the actions spoken
of in the presidential proclamations of old. Here is an example from
Lyndon B. Johnson: “On that day, let us gather in our homes and in
our places of worship and in other suitable places to give thanks to God
for His graciousness and His generosity to us - to pledge to Him our
everlasting devotion - to beseech His divine guidance and the wisdom and
strength to recognize and follow that guidance.” Barack Obama likes to
quote past presidents, maybe he should look at what made men like
Lyndon Johnson tick instead of sitting under men who proclaim the
chickens have come home to roost like Jerimiah Wright.
The recent ruling of the Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case
has brought out many who cannot see the attack on religion in the
Affordable Care Act when it requires people with Christian beliefs to go
against those beliefs. That this is a limiting of our religious freedom as
granted in the Bill of Rights. They instead divert the attention to an
attack on women and contraception. To them, we cannot have a belief
that aborting a life in any way or time is wrong. That’s because they see
no need for any Christian beliefs. They say those belong only in the
church and not in public.
Thus, these people see no need for thanks to the Almighty God even
though many would state that they believe in God. One has to wonder
exactly what this God of theirs is all about.
Let’s recommit ourselves to the words of the Continental Congress in
1777 that declared by proclamation: “FOR AS MUCH as it is the
indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of
Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for
Benefits received . . .” And of course let us fully realize and never forget
the ultimate benefit realized by Christians as spoken of by Paul in 2 Cor
9:15, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Indescribable
indeed! Ω
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Now Thank We All Our God
This story about the history of Now Thank We All Our God comes from the
book by Robert J. Morgan, Then Sings My Soul.
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
An old English preacher once said, “A grateful mind is a great mind,”
and the Bible agrees. There are 138 passages of Scripture on the subject of
thanksgiving, and some of them are powerfully worded. Colossians 3:17
says: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” 1
Thessalonians 5:18 adds, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Unfortunately, few hymns are devoted exclusively to thanking God.
Among the small, rich handful we do have is “Now Thank We All Our
God.” The German Christians sing this hymn like American believers sing
the “Doxology,” yet it’s loved on both sides of the Atlantic and around the
world.
It was written by Martin Rinkart (1586-1649), a Lutheran pastor in the
little village of Eilenberg, Saxony. He grew up as the son of a poor
coppersmith, felt called to the ministry, and after his theological training
began his pastoral work just as the Thirty Years’ War was raging through
Germany.
Floods of refugees streamed into the walled city of Eilenberg. It was
the most desperate of times. The Swedish army encompassed the city
gates, and inside the walls there was nothing but plague, famine, and fear.
Eight hundred homes were destroyed, and people began dying in
increasing numbers. There was a tremendous strain on the pastors, who
expended all their strength in preaching the gospel, caring for the sick and
dying, and burying the dead. One after another, the pastors themselves
took ill and perished until at last only Martin Rinkart was left. Some days
he conducted as many as fifty funerals.
Finally the Swedes demanded a huge ransom. It was Martin Rinkart
who left the safety of the city walls to negotiate with the enemy, and he did
it with such courage and the faith that there was soon a conclusion of
hostilities, and the period of suffering ended.
Rinkart, knowing there is no healing without thanksgiving, composed
this hymn for survivors of Eilenberg. It has been sung around the world
ever since.
Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices.
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Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands
and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this
world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on
our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be
near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to
cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when
perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be
given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in
highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven
adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be
evermore.
Important Things
Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday Nov
2nd at 2:00AM. Turn your clocks back
one hour or if you don’t and you are not
accustomed to attending Sunday School,
you will this Sunday.
Women’s Bible Study—Nov 12 and 26, 7:00
PM. Jean Holroyd is teaching from the book by John
MacArthur Our Awesome God.
Nov 15th 8:00 AM Men’s Breakfast—A meal of eggs,
bacon, and bakery fit for hungry men and great
fellowship.
Dec 7th, a date to remember—not only as a
remembrance of Pearl harbor but because this is the
date of our Annual Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner to be
followed by the important Annual Congregational
Meeting. Turkey and ham is provided by the church.
There will be a sign up sheet for providing the sides.
Nursery Schedule for November
2ndKelleigh Anderson
9th16th23rd30th-
Zane Newsom
eSTHER dAVISON
Heather Norgauer
Yvonne Newsom
Please trade with someone if you are
unable to do nursery duty on the assigned
day.
Kaira Tunnicliff
1st
Mildred Christie 24th
Amy Edmonds
9th
Esther Davison
24th
Janet Ramig
11th
Dell Tunnicliff
28th
Alex Ramig
15th
Nic Church
30th
Luke & Kia Newsom Nov 17th
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Giving Thanks
from Ligonier Tabletalk Magazine
“One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising
God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving
him thanks” (Luke 17:15–16a).
Along with our failure to honor God, Romans 1:21 says our lack of
gratitude to Him is the other primal sin that motivates all of the
various forms of wickedness that are on display in human conduct.
Like the error we commit in dishonoring God, it is also easy to see
how ingratitude motivates a host of other evils. For instance, if we
are not grateful to God for all of the blessings that He has given us,
we will quickly begin to feel as if we have been cheated somehow.
This will blossom into covetousness as we envy others whom we
perceive to be more blessed than we are, and we might even go
further into theft or adultery, wherein we take things that are not
rightfully ours.
Biblical ethics have gratitude at their core, for it is always
thankfulness to the Lord that is to motivate our obedience. This is
evident from the structures of the biblical narrative itself. When
God speaks to His people after the fall, He always reminds us of how
much He has done for them before He delivers His laws. The Ten
Commandments were not given to the ancient Israelites until after
the Lord rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 20:1–17). In their
epistles, Peter, Paul, and the other apostles generally lay out the
great truths of redemption before they make application of those
truths in practical, ethical matters. From first to last, thankfulness
is one of the major animating impulses of a true Christian ethic.
According to the Word of God, gratitude is not simply something
that we feel but something that we must demonstrate to others.
When interpreters look at the account of the cleansing of the ten
lepers in Luke 17:11–19, they often draw the distinction between one
leper who was thankful and nine who were ungrateful. Yet this is not
exactly what we see in the passage. We have no reason to believe
that the nine who did not immediately thank Jesus for their healing
felt no gratitude, for who among us would not be tempted to run
home immediately and share the good news if we should be healed of
some terrible ailment? This can be done even as we are feeling
thankful in our hearts toward the healer. No, the real difference
between the one who went back to Jesus and the nine who did not is
that the one who returned displayed His gratitude while the others
kept it to themselves. Christian thankfulness will always display
itself in good deeds and verbal expressions of gratitude.
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Coram Deo
(Before the face of God)
We might think that we are grateful to God for what He has
done for us, but if we never work to serve others, especially His
people, then we must question the authenticity of our thankfulness.
James 2:14–26 and other passages make it clear that Christian
virtues are not mere inward thoughts and feelings but are
expressed in concrete acts of love and service. Let us show forth
how thankful we are to God by doing good to others.
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Report from Your Session
November 2014 Session Report
The fall has come and winter is not too far away. It is the time
of year in America that we stop to give thanks. It is an attitude
that we should have all the time, however it is not a bad thing to be
reminded of our calling/command. God has blessed us with so much
– life, freedom to worship, the church, salvation through Christ, . . .
and on and on we can go. Take advantage of this time to show and
tell of your gratitude for the blessings and provision of God.
Bitter Winter, Better Thanksgiving,
the story of Miles Standish
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
"Then the sicknes begane to fall sore amongst them, and
the weather so bad . . . the Gov/r and cheefe of them, seeing
so many dye, and fall downe sick dayly, thought it no wisdom
to send away the ship . . . ."
Capt. Miles Standish had been much at his wife Rose's
bedside. As much time, that is, as he could spare from
stalking game, guarding against savages, and felling trees to
construct crude homes on shore.
A bitter wind whistled through chinks and cracks in the
Mayflower, anchored in Plymouth harbor that winter of 162021. Rose's chills would turn to uncontrollable shaking. Then
just as suddenly, her body would be ablaze with fever. Herbs
from the surgeon's chest did little to relieve her. By spring
only five wives remained out of the eighteen who had sailed to
Plymouth. Rose was not among them.
We are given a tremendous blessing in the church. It is God's
provision for us to help us and sustain us. Our interaction is not
just limited to Sundays. There are many ways for us to be a part of
each other's lives. We want you to be aware of two.
Thanksgiving? What was that? The golden dreams of a
New World that Miles and Rose had cherished together had
evaporated into hollow hopes. And yet that fall Capt. Standish
joined other bereaved Pilgrims in the first Thanksgiving
celebration.
First, for those with a computer, we have created a section on
our website to help us stay connected throughout the week. Go to
http://northwoodspca.org/connect. There you will find updates and
encouragements throughout the week as well as links to our
Facebook, Google+, and Twitter accounts.
The real test of thankfulness is whether we can give
thanks from the heart for what we do have, despite the
wounds and pains of yesterday's struggles. Ours is not some
fair-weather faith, but a resilient trust in the midst of pain.
The Pilgrims lived close to the edge of survival. Perhaps that
is why they were so thankful.
Second, there are many opportunities to study the Bible with
one another throughout the month. The Women's Bible study on
the 2nd and 4th Wednesday's, the Men's Breakfast on the 3rd
Saturday, Bible Study 20/40 on 2 Friday nights a month, and the
LCCC Bible Study every Thursday night. See the church calendar
(http://northwoodspca.org/calendar) for specific times and dates
of each. Take the time to get to know God and each other better
so that you can be encouraged and strengthened in your walk.
Ω
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How about you? Does your material bounty cause you to
neglect thanks? When your clan gathers this Thanksgiving will
a prayer of thankfulness be forgotten between moist turkey
and pumpkin pie? Will your children see you bow your head to
give thanks, or merely ask for another helping of dressing and
cranberry sauce? Ω
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A Thanksgiving Day prayer
Dear Father in Heaven
Please lend me Your ear,
'Cause I've got a prayer
You'll be happy to hear.
Lord, there's no request list
This time when I pray,
I just want to give thanks
This Thanksgiving Day.
First, I want to thank You
For gifts from above:
Your unending mercy,
Your undeserved love.
Answer: Thankfulness is a prominent Bible theme. First
Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch that? Give
thanks in all circumstances. Thankfulness should be a way
of life for us, naturally flowing from our hearts and mouths.
Digging into the Scriptures a little more deeply, we
understand why we should be thankful and also how to
have gratitude in different circumstances.
Psalm 136:6 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.” Here we have two reasons to be
thankful: God’s constant goodness and His steadfast love.
When we recognize the nature of our depravity and
understand that, apart from God, there is only death (John
10:10; Romans 7:5), our natural response is to be grateful
for the life He gives.
And thank You for sending
Your Son down to earth,
For now those in Jesus
Can have second birth.
Lord, thank You for saving
Your children from Hell,
And giving Your Spirit
Who comes to indwell.
And thank You for choosing me
To be Your own,
For now that You're in me
I'm never alone.
Lord, thanks for forgiving me
When I'm untrue,
And last, but not least, Father,
Thank You for You!
Connie Hinnen
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Question: "What does the Bible say about
thankfulness/gratitude?" from gotquestions.org
Psalm 30 gives praise to God for His deliverance. David
writes, “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the
depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord
my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O Lord,
you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from
going down into the pit. . . . You turned my wailing into
dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with
joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord
my God, I will give you thanks forever”
(Psalm 30:1-12). Here David gives thanks to God following
an obviously difficult circumstance. This psalm of
thanksgiving not only praises God in the moment but
remembers God’s past faithfulness. It is a statement of
God’s character, which is so wonderful that praise is the
only appropriate response.
We also have examples of being thankful in the midst of
hard circumstances. Psalm 28, for example, depicts David’s
distress. It is a cry to God for mercy, protection, and justice.
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After David cries out to God, he writes, “Praise be to the
Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my
strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am
helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in
song” (Psalm 28:6-7). In the midst of hardship, David
remembers who God is and, as a result of knowing and
trusting God, gives thanks.
Job had a similar attitude of praise, even in the face of
death: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21).
There are examples of believers’ thankfulness in the New
Testament as well. Paul was heavily persecuted, yet he
wrote, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal
procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the
fragrance of the knowledge of him” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are
receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be
thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and
awe” (Hebrews 12:28). Peter gives a reason to be thankful
for “grief and all kinds of trials,” saying that, through the
hardships, our faith “may be proved genuine and may result
in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is
revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
The people of God are thankful people, for they realize how
much they have been given. One of the characteristics of
the last days is a lack of thanksgiving, according to
2 Timothy 3:2. Wicked people will be “ungrateful.”
We should be thankful because God is worthy of our
thanksgiving. It is only right to credit Him for “every good
and perfect gift” He gives (James 1:17). When we are
thankful, our focus moves off selfish desires and off the pain
of current circumstances. Expressing thankfulness helps us
remember that God is in control. Thankfulness, then, is not
only appropriate; it is actually healthy and beneficial to us. It
reminds us of the bigger picture, that we belong to God, and
that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing
(Ephesians 1:3). Truly, we have an abundant life (John
10:10), and gratefulness is fitting. Ω
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Have a Need? Contact one of the officers.
Church Office Hours
Office Telephone
Web Site
Tue, Wed, and Thu 8:30 - 4:30
637-4817
northwoodspca.org
[email protected]
Milan Norgauer, Pastor
635-1865
[email protected]
Tim Anderson, Elder
286-6625
[email protected]
Brian Church, Elder
221-9966
[email protected]
Alex Davison, Elder
245-9348
[email protected]
Alex Ramig, Elder
638-8927
[email protected]
Rich Cesal, Deacon/Treasurer
637-6195
[email protected]
Dale Vosler, Deacon
632-0133
[email protected]
If you have a request for the prayer chain contact
Branda Church 221-9206 and if not available,
Kelleigh Anderson 635-2578.
Enter into His gates with
thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise. Be
thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Hallelujah, Amen.
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